Blue Spirit Legacy
by Justus Cross
Summary: About 50 years after Ang defeated Ozai, now there only remains smaller threats to peace. The common criminals still practice their trade, which is why the organization of the Blue Spirit Legacy was born. To take care of smaller threats to peace that the Avatar would not through their own methods. But can blood really bring balance to the nations, and their new Republic City?
1. Chapter 1- Proluge: Jians story part 1

**Intro- This is the first chapter of my Avatar the Last Air bender fan fiction, Blue Spirit Legacy. Takes place some fifty years or so after the show after republic city would have been around for a while. That should suffice for intro though, other than that all I have to say is "Enjoy". **

**Chapter -1**

His eyes groggily opened to the warmth of the sun through thin blinds made of cheap cloth. The people in the next room were already up and were as usual yelling in the attempt to quiet their children while they ate breakfast. This was unfortunately a common wake up call for Jian, but he took the cue regardless and got out of bed to get ready for the day. He reached under the bed and took a key out of a hole dug into the side of one of his beds legs, and walked across the room.

Jian washed his face in with water from a small basin he left on the counters built in the apartment style room which were starting to become very popular in republic city. He opened up the far left cupboard underneath the counters and pulled out some bread and a little bit of dried meat. For a moment he remembered his home in the water tribe where he could always keep meat fresh due to the temperature. His musing was short and he reached in again to pull out a cup.

Jian poured out some room temperature water out of a larger jug next to the basin. He noticed it was only about a quarter full. He made note to fill it after work. Next he reached for the key on the counter and put it into a slot in the cupboard to the right of the one he previously took food from. This time he reached in and chose a smaller 6 inch blade from an assortment of smaller knives and swords neatly organized on a wooden rack. He grabbed the bread loaf with one hand and with the other made two swift movements with the other, cutting off two slices. He reached into the same cupboard and used a rag to wipe the blade off before returning it to its place, shutting and locking the door.

He sat down and quickly at the simple meal at the table in the middle of the room. Being that he couldn't go to work in his currently underdressed state he took a pair of clean enough shirt and pants from under his bed. It wasn't to cold outside but when you got near the docks it could chill you fast if you weren't properly dressed. Knowing this he pulled a thicker earth colored over tunic. His overall appearance now was very much the same at the over tunic, his pants and shirt were also an earthy though lighter shade of tan. Working at a dockyard did not require a fancy appearance.

Now that he was ready, Jian went out the door locking it as it closed, and went downstairs to street level. Before leaving he stopped at the message boxes at the front of the apartment building. There was nothing inside, which meant that only Lee got to work today making for a boring day overall.

Outside the city was bustling with the morning setting in and all form of vendors opening up shop. The city had not started as such a metropolis but over 50 years many had moved in and transformed it into a town like no other in any of the five nations.

It really did have its beautiful parts, Jian thought to himself as he passed the large park that was on the way to the docks. This pleasant thought was shortly interrupted by the uglier side of the big city. In front of a food vendor three men were talking to the obviously uncomfortable owner. The older gentleman went inside and came back with money in hand. After the man handed it to the men, one in the middle made a threatening gesture with his hand and a little fire appeared. The owner flinched and the gangsters got a laugh as they walked away.

Jian couldn't help but stare at them in disgust, hoping on some level that the next letter he got had their names on it. But for now he was running later than usual and quickened his pace a bit to get a jump on the day's work.

It was a pretty slow day at work and only a few ships made port that day. Jian mostly just unloaded boxes and other cargo from incoming ships, and occasionally helped with minor repairs. It was simple work, far to simple for a man of his skill. It paid for food though and made little attention for himself. At the end of the day he could walk away with money in hand with no questions asked as long as his work was done.

When it neared evening they were done for the day, a little earlier than usual so Jian would have time to run errands if he needed to. He went to the office to collect the daily wage from his employer.

"Here you go Lee, see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow Mr. Chan"

Lee wasn't his real name but it was what he responded to outside his brothers. Not that anone knew who he really was in the first place, but if something were to happen it would be more difficult to track a Mr. Lee. There were perhaps a few Jians in this part of town, but no matter where you went; there were a million Lees.

Money in pocket 'Lee' went back toward his home. He Stopped at a vendor to get some more bread and a little bit of fresh fish for tonight's dinner (his thoughts this morning had left him craving it). After a few minuets he passed through the threshold of the building and went over to check his message box again. This time he saw a small white sealed piece of paper inside. Excitedly Jian quickly snatched the letter from within the box and took it upstairs to his room.

The fish and bread are left at the door as Jian sits down at the table in the room and opens the letter and read it.

-Dear Mr. Tai

I am requesting the services of your cleaning company, Rublic City Cleaning to come by my house tonight to prepare it for a party I am hosting tomorrow. There will not be many people in the house so you should have no problem working around them. Please take care not to disturb my guard's though they have been a bit touchy as of late. The house is at the end of Crane Street on Kin row. I would ask that you make haste on this request as today is the only real window to clean house.

My Regards

-Xioa Fang

It would seem as though the letter was addressed to the wrong person but Jian got the message just fine. There was only one way to tell for sure that this letter was not in fact just a case of mixing addresses. He went over to a small metal stove in the corner and lit the logs within. He held the letter over the small flame within.

A picture started to appear over the letters slowly as the invisible inks pattern began to emerge. It was the mask of the blue spirit, and a very good day for Jian. He went and got the key from under his bed post again and unlocked all the drawers beneath his counter. As they swung open you could see all manner of weapons within, the legacy made sure that their agents were well prepared for any contingency. He chose some of the smaller blades out of the drawer from the morning, as well as one medium sized blade for sword to sword combat.

Then he got out his specialty weapons from a cupboard filled with odd looking devices. The only ones of real use to him were small stealthy water pouches that he could strap to his wrists. He could only use them about once apiece, but once was often enough to 'clean house' as the letter had said, and clean house he would.

Xioa Fang was a notorious gang leader in the eastern part of the town, though the thugs from this morning were likely not his, he had many just like them under his command. Recently he had gone too far and burned down three of the businesses who refused to pay his protection fees, and apparently this had pushed him to the top of the Legacy's list.

The Legacy of the Blue Spirit, is who sent out the messages, though Jian knew there were very few agents who chose their own targets. The Legacy was started in the idea of the old stories of the masked warrior the blue spirit in the younger days of the Avatar Ang. The legends say that on a few occasions he rescued Ang from death letting him restore balance by defeating the old Fire Nation. The Legacy only sought to do the same in a more silent way, restoring balance where the Avatar was not.

Men like Fang were the reason Jian joined the Legacy and his disgust with the swarm of thugs and villains in this city kept him waiting every day for letters like these so he could continue to take them out of the picture. And now he was ready for the current mission, his tools and clothes laid out on the counter, but night would not fall for a few hours and the house was not so far away.

Jian went into the far left cupboard and took out a pan putting it on the already lit stove to warm up. He went to the door and got the fish out and started preparing it while he locked up the wooden weapon vaults again. Fresh fish and another gangster off the street, today was a good day. In fact, he would even say it was a day to kill for.

The moon was high in the sky as Jian got outside Fang's house. His crimes let the man live well. The home was not a mansion but certainly better than anyone he extorted from lived in. The lights were out for the most part making it easy for Jian to sneak up to the house and get in through a window. This put him toward the entrance of the house in a hallway, he looked into the two doors in front of him one was a guest room and the other was being used by either family or a servant, Jian was careful not to wake them.

He moved down the hallway carful to listen for the guard's while not making a sound himself. As he went he looked in a few of the rooms none of which were grand enough to be the master of the houses'. Finally he peeked around a corner to see lamps lit at the end of the hall way and a man standing outside the door. There was another hallway at the corner past the room but no windows or other indirect to get past the guard into the room. Though there were likely windows outside Fang's room he was on the second floor of the house and climbing was not his forte.

Jian did have a trick or few up his sleeve though. He bent a small amount of water out of his pouch and leaned around the corner just ever so slightly. He put out his hand and flicked his wrist sending a small shard of ice hurling past the guard to the end of the hallway. It made a light but sharp shattering sound and the guard who was more or less sleeping standing up shook awake and made his way over to look for whatever had made the sound.

Taking advantage of the guard's carelessness, Jian silently dashed past the lit lamps up to the guard's back and bent some water into his hand. In one fluid motion he disabled the guard's arms and froze water over the mans mouth. The guard tried to struggle for about a minute but shortly passed out. Jian thought this mercy unnecessary but the Legacy had its rules, and Fang was the only target.

Jian was about to move on to Fang's door when he heard a sound coming from the hallway he had just come from. Footsteps. He picked up the guard again and checked in a room down the hall before laying him down again within the empty guest space. That taken care of Jian took post at the corner waiting to see who came down the hall.

Another man with a sword came down the hall and looked at the space where the last guard stood puzzled for a moment. He heard the man utter something

"Dammit Sanzen can't you stay at your post for just one whole night?"

Then he walked off in the opposite direction, presumable looking for his fellow guard whose name was apparently Sanzen, and was also going to be knocked out likely until the sun rose. Jian waited untill the sound of footsteps disappeared again down the other hall and crept into the surprisingly plain room of his target.

He had expected some higher level of extravagance from a man like Fang but other than a few statues and a few pieces of expensive furniture the room was fairly sparse. His bed was directly across from the door, and Jian silently stepped closer and closer to the sleeping figure of the gangster. Now He stood directly over the man and was able to confirm that it was the correct man. Fang had a distinguishing face and a drawing of him had been in the news before on charges which he ended up not being arrested for, likely paying off the police in charge.

Now that the target was confirmed Jian bent another handful of water out of his pouch and moved his hand slowly over the man's face. Just as the water touched Fang's face he jolted awake and let out a muffled yell before Jian silenced it with ice. The sound was jolting enough that others might hear; unfortunately this meant that Jian could not relish the time it took for Fang to suffocate in his prison of ice. He pulled out one of his smaller blades from his side and held it to the gangster's neck; his eyes were frantic with fear.

Jian somewhat relished this next part as he had only had two hits before that were awake when they died. Keeping the knife entirely still above Fang's throat he leaned in and whispered in his ear.

"I think this punishment is fitting for your crimes Fang, only by removing scum like you can we return balance to this city. "

Time still being of the essence he left his speech at this, knowing that it was wasted on evil men like Fang anyways. Still leaned in he quickly slit Fang's throat and he began to bleed as the life left his eyes in a matter of moments. Satisfied that the man was beyond help he made his way to the door when it started to open on its own.

The guard from before entered the door slightly before speaking.

" Mr. Fang I thought I heard a sound from outside, are you okay?"

Complete silence within the room.

"Mr. Fang?"

The guard began cautiously walking toward the bed, curious about his employer. Damn, Jian had not expected the guard to be so overly vigilant. Under the bed, Jian began to crawl back away from the side of the bed that Fang's corpse now lay. As the guard stood over his master Jian began to slowly get up on the other side of the bed. Just as the guard gasped in horror at the bloody mess of a man below him, Jian took his chance and sprang up to attack. He opened the larger water pouches on his arms and bent out a barrage of small ice shards into the man's body. Jian was fairly precise in their direction and nearly everyone went into a vital part of the body.

Jian had sent one of the shards into the vocal cords and sliced it, so all the man could do as he died was let out a raspy breath as he grasped his own throat to try and stop if only one of his wounds from bleeding out. The guard fell slowly to the ground and settled into a pool of his own blood. Now it was time to get out of here before Jian encountered anymore unexpected guests, he had already killed one non-target which was bad enough for him to receive a warning in his next letter.

Retracing his path Jian stepped silently, his still bloody knife at the ready just in case. Crawling out the window he had successfully made it out of the house with no extra trouble. Now he would go home, and tomorrow he would go back to being Mr. Lee, hiding the way the Legacy had found most effective. Right in plain sight.

**This is the end of Chapter 1. This is sort of a concept story and Jian would not be the main character of the series. It would go more into the legacy's leaders and a more charismatic and self-led character with a bit more interesting past. Tell me if you're interested in reading more of this story. Ill likely still write chapter two anyways as part of novel November but to continue on this particular project the project would have to have mild interest.  
**

**P.S. Please do not hesitate to tell me about any spelling/grammatical errors. I do my best but I have a tendency to auto correct with my eyes. I will do my best to go back and fix those errors that are not intentional.**


	2. Chapter 2 - Proluge: Jians story part 2

Blue Spirit Legacy - **Chp 2**

**Notes: Here comes chapter two, and still not the main character (sorry please wait for cheaper three I'll try to crank it out here quick) but it's somewhat a lead in to that. Other than that no more intro can be given that won't ruin something so enjoy.**

Jian woke up, a day much like any other, almost. He would eat, get dressed and go to work as Mr. Lee like any other day. But today Jian would do it with a little bit more of a smile on his face knowing the streets were slightly clean. The night before, Xioa Fang along with one of his guards had suffered silent deaths at Jian's hands; a fact that kept him near giddy as he went through his daily routine.

On the way out he checked his messages and found an expected letter within. It had no lettering of any kind but he knew that when held up to the oven it would reveal a blue spirit mask, along with a blade and scale representing the balance restored by his deed. This message somewhat relieving to Jian with its lack of lettering in that there was no opportunity for cryptic scolding of the guard's death, he was afraid it may have shown his sloppiness. The note was slipped into his pocket to check by the fire later, and Jian walked off to the shipyard to make his daily wage.

The day went by fairly quickly with the positive mood Jian was in, and the whole crew was done almost as early as the day before. Though there was one odd thing though. One of his fellow workers on another ship kept staring at him oddly when he thought Jian wasn't looking. The man didn't cause any trouble, but it kept Jian wary of him when he wasn't focused on work.

Time came to head home after everyone had finished unloading the last crates. Jian picked up his pay and looked out the window as he left the office. The man from before was waiting outside, and now with a few friends it seemed. Jian was not one to be paranoid but he was one to be cautious, he didn't like to take his weapons with him into town; it drew too much suspicion. Just in case thing turned out how they were beginning to look, he would need to improvise to survive.

He avoided the eyes of the group and went around the backside of the office to the garbage and found a glass bottle that he broke on the ground. He used a larger shard to cut some cloth off his over tunic and wrapped it around the makeshift blade. Now with proper protection Jian walked around to the front again and tried not to get noticed. To no avail unfortunately.

The group glanced over and their leader, the man from the day noticed him.

"Damn"

Jian uttered under his breath and quickened his pace, but two of the men cut him off and the other four or so came around the back, the leader being one of them. Jian realized the uselessness of ignoring the problem any further and turned to greet his stalker. Oddly enough the man did was somewhat familiar, who was he though?

" Can I help you with something sir?"

The man only stared at him, a look of disgust on his face. He was staring Jian down, as if he hadn't done so enough through the day, this time it was different though. He was sort of scanning Jian as though to confirm something about him. The look changed on his face as if he finally got what he was looking for and he opened his mouth.

"I don't know why don't you tell my brother, how you can help me?"

Jian still wasn't following, but he could tell the man had a cold fury that disturbed him. Apparently not looking for an answer the enraged man continued.

"Or maybe you'd like to ask my boss, Mr. Fang. Oh that's right you can't they both died last night after I was knocked out by an assassin. "

Shit, Jian had an idea where this was going, even if this man didn't know for sure it was him there was a fight on his hands. He coiled up like a spring and began to move into a fighting stance, hands gripping the makeshift dagger so tightly it felt as though it would cut through the cloth.

"But on his way out he was not paying attention to the man he had assumed was still knocked out in a guest room and I got a good look at his face. I thought that even with this I would never find you but apparently I had some good luck in day jobs."

While the man finished his sentence he began moving forward nodding the other men in who began to draw their weapons. The first to strike was a man behind, a reckless stab that left him unprotected. Jian uncoiled from his prepared state in an instance and whirled around to dodge the attack. Using his momentum he lashed out and cut the man across his arm forcing the weapon to drop.

Seeing his grace and skill the others stopped for a daunting moment, before the enraged dead guard's brother yelled with fury.

"I'll kill you, you **butcher**!"

They all took cue and began to make stabs or swings at Jian, depending on their weapon. One man got a hit in with a makeshift bludgeon before Jian spun around and kicked him in the ribs (breaking a few) while fending off a man's sword with his glass shard. He blocked a few more of the men's weapons before the impromptu blade shattered in his hand, slicing it deeply. Left to only his fists Jian focused his attacks on one man and landed a succession of punches on him before knocking him down with a kick attempting to make a hole out of the mob.

At the moment he tried to dash out though another man lunged and flailed his sword at Jian. Despite the man's sloppiness his blade caught an otherwise focused Jian's leg and slashed deeply severing muscle tissue.

"Gahhh!"

Jian cried out and stumbled but forced himself to try and keep pace as the alternative was quickly losing. It only took a few seconds to see that he was outrunning no one on this damaged leg though, as his assailants were catching up fast. So be it. Jian turned to face them again, if he was going to die here today, he would fight them to the last.

The first man to catch up was a leaner man with a dagger. He made a powerful stab at Jian's chest, but his hand was snatched out of the air and his arm broken. Jian grabbed the falling dagger and used it to gouge the man in the eye and then threw the broken man to the ground. There were only four left of the group now, with the man with broken ribs off to the side and now this one down. The rest of them came at him together but now he was appropriately armed, despite his injury.

They blades began to fly again, and Jian was able to knock them aside but could not get any of his own hits in-between. He was eventually able to land a few hits on the fore arms but they weren't much more than nicks and the hits that were starting to land on his own body were getting progressively worse. He needed more mobility but his injured leg left him without most of his maneuverability.

Seeing no end to the constant sword clash Jian summoned all his strength and readied for a more severe tactic. The leader let his blade fly for another attack but instead of countering, this time Jian jumped over his hand and kicked off of the mans body sending him flying back. Jian tucked and flipped as he came over two of the other men and then kicked out at their heads. He landed with his legs around the neck of the last man standing and fell to the ground where he broke the man's neck.

The jump had almost completely destroyed the functionality of his injured leg but it had gotten the job done. The two men he kicked in the head were crumpled on the ground and the leaders ribs like one of his protégés were also likely broken. Jian got up and did his best to start limping away from the broken man and headed the few hundred yards to the dock. If only he had been nearer during the fight it could have been of some use, but the past was past and Jian used the water to heal his more minor wounds.

He was just about done when he felt a sharp pain in his back and looked down to see a blade coming out of his chest. The guard had not been as injured as he seemed.

"That's for my brother, and my men you demon!"

The man was able to yell before crumpling backwards obviously in great deals of pain. Though not as much as Jian who was fading fast, blood pouring out around the buried sword. With hardly any strength left from the battle he did not even attempt to push out the blade. Instead he let his body fall sideways, and began crawling back toward his soon to be killer, his own blade still in hand. He got beside the man who looked at him with horror that was reserved for those who have seen a true devil.

"You really are a demon aren't you?"

The let out in a panicked whisper, past his shattered ribs. Jian only grinned a bit and offered his blade as a reply. Jian used his last bit of strength and spite to jam the dagger into the guard's throat. The man began to audibly choke on blood with a panicked look in his eye, but Jian eyes were calm and he blocked out the sound as they both lay there dying.

How ironic, Jian thought to himself as darkness began to consume his vision. That even now I complete the cycle of an assassin.

I kill.

And then return to the shadows. Only this time for good.

Jian's breathing stopped, and his body lay still. Blood and carnage from the battle was still fresh in the distance and the city's police force was on its way. The fight would make the newspaper the next day but would be seen only a robbery gone wrong. The victim of the crime would be a man only known as Mr. Lee.

**Wow. That happened. So Jian is dead now, who will take his place? How will the Legacy react to the event and the steady rise of crime in Republic City? All this and more (maybe) in the next chapter of blue spirit legacy!**

**To the readers: Hey once again, please review if you enjoyed this piece or if you hated it for that matter, hell, tell me what you think even if you're on the fence about it. User input is what drives authors to do better. Also I'm open to suggestion though no promises, I'll try to work in ideas I like though. Till next time though. Thank you for reading.**


	3. Chapter 3 - A New Beggining

Blue spirit legacy 3 – A New Beginning

Haku walked down the market street with a smile on his face. The sun was out after a few days of rain and gloomy weather, making his errands for the day far more pleasant. He looked up at a clock in the center of the market square and saw that there was time yet until his appointment. He would stop in and say hello to his favorite shop keeper Mr. Lee in the meantime.

Making his way around the down the long row of colorful shops full of a variety of different foods and wares, Haku stopped to check out the fruits stand and picked up a small fresh melon paying for it and putting it in the satchel around his waist. After a bit more browsing, he went into an older 'hole in the wall' shop toward the center of the markets center. The age battered sign out front said "Lee's Flower Shop" and on either side of the name were what at one time ornately painted Pai Sho tiles. White lotus tiles to be exact.

When Haku pushed open the door a rush of smells of the sweet smells that damp earth and greens had to offer burst forth. Haku breathed the room in deeply and gave a warm smile and a wave to the man sitting behind the counter. Mr. Ling looked up from the bonsai tree he was trimming and returned Haku's gestures and a loud greeting with it.

"Hakoda! How are you doing my boy?"

Haku winced a bit before replying; he never quite got used to the loudness of the little man's friendly tone.

"Good my friend. And how many times have I told you, you can call me Haku?"

"At least a thousand times, and it shall likely be a thousand more before I do."

Haku enjoyed Mr. Lee's way of speaking, never quite cryptic but not at strait forward as most people he met.

"So what have come in for today **Hakoda**?"

Mr. Lee said putting emphasis on Haku's full name with a wide grin.

"Do we have some business to attend to or have you finally found yourself a lovely lady your willing to buy some of my lovely flowers for."

"Very funny my old friend. But neither today just here on business and thought you might enjoy the company. I even brought you a gift."

Haku took the melon out of his satchel and tossed is across the counter into Mr. Lee's lap.

"Melon! My favorite. My thanks Hakoda. Though it really is a puzzle with kindness like this and looks like yours that you have not been in once to buy flowers for a lucky lady. Is it perhaps your odor, I cannot perceive such things past the smells of my own wares."

"I do not think so, but even so your sense of humor would make those 'lucky ladies' scatter more than any smell I could possible possess."

The two of them shared a hearty laugh.

"Oh ho ho. Your wit is as sharp as your blades Hakoda, please sit make yourself at home for a bit."

Mr. Lee went back to trimming the bonsai and they began to chat casually of the shops business as well as how Haku's mother Sanka was doing. They had both had moved to the border of the midsized town of Kinto a few years after Haku's father died, leaving their shop in republic city. Over the last nine or so years they had adjusted well enough and lived with Sanka's late husband's family in the area ( As she had no living relatives in the water nation). As Haku finished a story about his mother helping out in his uncles new pottery store, Lee cut in.

"Do you think She will ever open up your fathers flower shop again? In this town I mean. Not that I need any more competition, but curiosity is something I have never been in shortage of."

"No, I'm afraid the Shen-chi Garden will stay as it is; an empty building in republic city."

The shop was after his father's namesake, and it was quite popular in the city. His father Haru Sheng-chi opened the shop just as the city started to boom, and the establishment just like the plants within flourished.

"That's too bad, your father was excellent with plants, even better than me, if that's possible. I taught him very well."

"That he was Lee, that he was."

Haku replied with a wispy tone, his face with sad smile looking off into space. Lee noticed his missteping and made a stumbling attempt to cheer his friend up.

"A- Anyways I know you're not here on business but perhaps I can show you a few things in back."

Haku's eyes brightened up a bit, an inquisitive spark within them.

"I think I have some time yet before my appointment. Show me what you have Lee."

"Ha! That's the spirit!"

Lee Got up and excitedly led Haku to the storage room in the back; he produced a key from his pocked and reached to the back of one of one of the shelves and turned his hand. He heard a click and the shelf along with the wall began to rotate outward revealing a room behind. Haku followed Lee through the opening in the wall and looked inside. It was a veritable arsenal within with every manner of conventional and unconventional weapon. It was more of the latter that appealed to Haku.

"The White Lotus never disappoint me, Mr. Lee. No matter how many times I see this room."

"He he he. Good to hear, but let me show you some wonderful new items that just came in from our craftsmen."

The White Lotus had been around as long as anyone could remember, their purpose to keep peace in the nations. Well that, and the perfect game of Pai Sho; their style was quite prolific in effectiveness. As of late they did their part in the peace keeping by doing their usual duties as well as helping a new breed of defenders along their way. The Legacy's founders were all high ranking men of the White Lotus and the White Lotus still played a large part in their actions to this day. Haku's father had also been a member of the White Lotus, became one after training with Mr. Lee. Fate brought the son back to the late man's years later.

"Ah, here this one first. It's a pouch you can strap closely to body making the blade you hide within nearly invisible from the outside."

"Yeah its nice, very practical."

Haku replied not even looking at the masterfully crafted leather sheath and an assassin's blade to match. Lee shook his head at the young man's impatience.

"I see that this does not quite strike your interest perhaps something from my more unconventional selection will be more to your liking?"

"You know me well Lee. What do you have for me?"

"Well there are two in specific I think you may enjoy. This first one is a miniature earth missile launcher. You can load this little clip here up with whatever material you like, and then just use your bending to fire them out of the easily hidden barrel at deadly speeds."

Haku was interested now and looked carefully at the apparatus, strapping it to his wrist as he did so. He bent down and bent a small shard out of the dirt floor and loaded it in the clip. He took stance and thrust his arm downward to the ground. The shard buried itself deep in the ground.

"Now that is more like it. Very nice Lee. What else do you have."

"Well this one takes advantage of your other talent. It's a new water holding apparatus that-"

Haku stopped him, holding out his hand.

"Lee, you know that I can only do basic healing with water bending. I got my real skills from my father's side. My grandfather Haru was a great earth bender and that's good enough for me."

"I know, I know. But I wish you would hone the talent your mother gave you as well, it is so rare that you someone like you comes along. Being able to control multiple elements is an honor otherwise reserved for the Avatar."

"Well I'm no Avatar, Mr. Lee. I'm just trying to do my best to make things a little better in my own way."

"And you are Hakoda, you and the Blue Spirit Legacy do great good in these five nations. Speaking of which, I expect your business you spoke of has to do with the legacy. Aren't you going to be late if you spend much more time here."

Haku's eyes broadened a bit and he realized that how much time he had spent with his friend the flower shop owner.

"Damn! Your right. I'll stop by later to say goodbye on my way out of town. See you later Lee."

Haku removed the weapon from his list and dashed out of the shop while Mr. Lee called out behind him.

"See you later then, don't be late!"

Then Mr. Lee turned back and placed the weapon Haku had been testing back in its proper place before speaking again more silently to himself.

"Though we will be seeing more than enough of each other soon."

Haku got the building he was supposed to go to. The elders never met in the same place twice, and today it was a café that was conveniently closed for the owner to take a holiday. The door was unlocked though and he took cue to enter. He got a few steps in when a voice from the darker corner told spoke.

"That's close enough. Nice of you to arrive Mr. Sheng-chi, though reasonably late."

Haku bowed apologetically.

"My apology elders it won't happen again."

"I expect not. But now that you are here we have important matters to discuss. One of our brothers in republic city died this past week. Our sources tell us that a group led by the brother of a recent hit attacked him at his workplace and killed him. Of course not before he did his work on their numbers as well, but it was quite a mess, and we were lucky that his true self was not discovered."

Another voice began to speak this one quite a bit lower than the last.

"The hit was a guard to the well-known gangster Mr. Fang. Our information informs us that our brother botched the assassination and had to use a blade to finish him. Mr. Fang's sudden murder has caused chaos in the street with his thugs no longer led; they seek revenge now that they know an assassin did in their master. "

Yet another voice spoke this one Haku recognized as the leader of the elders, he had a tone raspy with age.

"We need a new man on the streets to bring order in these chaotic times. At least with Fang there was order, but now thugs walk the street doing as they see fit. It has only been a few days but it is clear that we are heading toward a precipice beyond which a war on the streets is waiting."

The man paused a moment letting the grim words settle in the silence of the near empty room. After a moment that felt like hours, the old man's low raspy tone came from the shadows again.

"That is where you come in Feng-chi. You are arguably one of our best, and though we may disagree greatly on your methods you have a habit of producing results. Given that this mission is in the city though we require your utmost discretion. These criminals in the city are not like those you are used to here in the even this city. There are other men like Fang was in republic city, most of them far wiser who we know very little about. These men are not to be trifled with until instructed, or they become a direct threat to balance and the overall peace. You shall be given the right to your own discretion on keeping the peace, but most of your targets for either assassination or intimidation will be given to you through our messengers in the white lotus."

Haku took in all the information nodding his head when the shaded figure stopped speaking. This was going to be a shift from his usual relation to the Legacy. He had originally been brought in through the White Lotus and for the most part only fulfilled requests here and there while working alone and taking care of crime as he saw it, in ways he saw appropriate. He had never truly answered to the Legacy or the White Lotus, though he respected their authority. These terms were acceptable though, Haku would fulfill his calling whenever it called upon him regardless of circumstance.

"Understood elder, I can follow discretion in making peace in Republic city. It sounds like this mission will be something in the long term. What are the details of where I am staying and how long do I have to prepare for the journey."

Another elder spoke out from the darkness. It seemed more than a few had showed up today.

"You shall blend in there by living and helping to run a shop the White Lotus helped us set up for you. You may be familiar with its name, 'Sheng-chi Gardens'. It should be as popular as it was ten years ago and provide well enough for your needs in this mission, though you will have regular support as you do here."

"Thank you elders, that was a very kind gesture of accommodation, but I do not believe I can run the shop. If you also remember I was no older than 12 when my father died and we had to leave it."

The same voice spoke again assuredly.

"Don't worry you won't be running it on your own, the White Lotus also provided someone to aid you and teach you to run the shop on your own."

The leader of the elders jumped in after his fellow finished.

"I believe you asked when you need to leave though?"

"Yes there would be a few things I would need to take care of before I leave. Mostly goodbyes, I like to travel light otherwise."

"Very well. I believe you know the missions importance, but the city will not fall in a day. Take care of your business, and then head for the stables outside of town where transportation will be provided for you."

"Thank you elders, I will make sure to make good time on setting up shop in the city."

"Good. May you have a pleasant journey Hakoda you'll be hearing from us soon."

"I'll be waiting. Good day elders"

Haku bowed, turned and then left the café. He headed toward Lee's shop to say goodbye on the way out of town. He ducked in quickly and ate some of the melon he had purchased earlier with the old man, telling him of his coming journey before leaving with well-wishings and the new weapon Lee had shown him earlier. With food in his belly and mission in mind Haku walked with a happy pace on the road to the edge of town. His mother would be surprised but ecstatic to hear the old shop was opening up again, the only hard part about this goodbye would be making sure she didn't come with him.

**End notes: That's it for now. Sorry for the long intro to the new story. I'll try to work some good action into the next chapter. And if you were wondering about the Haru reference, yes he is indeed Haru's grandson. It may or may not come up again, I would say yes. Until next time, review blab la bla generic author requests.**


	4. Chapter 4 - Sheng-chi Garden

Blue Spirit Chp. 4 Sheng-chi Garden

** Sorry for the delay on this chapter I got sick this weekend and then college works got me bogged down. So without further ado, organized words.**

It was mid-afternoon by the time that Haku found himself at the heart of Republic city, and business was in full swing with the streets bustling with people. He had been a child when he last experienced what was every day thoroughfare for the big city, and it was in an odd way very nostalgic. He breathed in deep somehow imagining it would help him live the moment in a fuller fashion. Instead he found himself suddenly coughing remembering suddenly the quality and smell of the air in the big city.

There were new cars that ran on steam, they were just coming around when Haku was a boy but now he saw at least a few of them on the street. Unfortunately they left the atmosphere a bit smoggy when they passed, something that made Haku wish they had not caught on quite soo well as he was trying to find his new residence. He looked down at the piece of parchment that had his directions, but they were a bit hard to follow, and part of them were nearly all smeared by some soup a fellow traveler had been eating on the small carriage an eel hound was pulling.

It was the third time or so he had tried to follow the path set forth in the directions as well as the third time he had ended up in a different place entirely. Haku was not easily frustrated, but this was turning out to be more of an ordeal than he had anticipated. He looked up from the map looked around the busy scenery to try and get his bearings, absent mindedly retracing his steps aloud.

"Well it says to turn and go left when I get to Rakkoi street, but I'm not seeing this bread shop they list here. If only these letters weren't so blurred."

With the unfamiliar environment offering no hints he looked back down to the directions, scratching his head trying to figure out the last part. Quite a few people rushed by a very confused looking head down Haku, apparently all with much better things to do than help a lost traveler. While he was trying to decipher the blur at the bottom though, he suddenly felt someone approaching. As they were about to poke him in the back to get his attention Haku spun around to greet whoever it was, he knew the city could be a dangerous place and was a bit on edge from his directions fumbling.

"Eeep!"

The young woman now in front of him stumbled backward, taken aback. Her foot caught a brick and put her off balance sending her backwards to the ground. A few inches into her decline Haku shot forward and put an arm around her. In the same finessed movement he brought her back on her feet and stepped back as they were nearly chest to chest. The young woman had an even more surprised face this time stuck on her now slightly blushing face. She was now just as taken aback by Haku's appearance as his abrupt turning and reflexes.

"Sorry about that miss, are you alright?"

Haku asked her, his face a bit red to in embarrassment to his unintentionally over the top greeting. Though took a few deep breaths and put her hand on her chest before answering in what was an understandingly flustered tone.

"Phewww! Yeah I think so. You just scared me is all. I hadn't even touched your shoulder and you whipped around like that and… and… Woooo you scared the hell outa me."

The woman finished her rather animated sentence letting out a big breath as she exclaimed her 'wooo'.

"Sorry about that, it's the first time that I've been in the city since I was a kid, it has me a bit on edge."

"Oh no it's fine. I had thought you were new in town given your aimless wandering. You've been past here about three times today."

The woman had regained composure and now was giving him a bit of a coy smile at the mention of the obviousness of how lost he was. Haku chuckled a bit as he replied.

"He He he. Yeah, that sounds about right for today. I assume you were coming to offer directions then. Do you have any idea where Sheng-chi Gardens is?"

"Wow, it really has been a while since you've been here hasn't it? Sorry buddy, there hasn't been a Sheng-chi Gardens around here since I was child too. A shame really, my mom and I loved that shop."

The friendly young lady's look turned from her coy smile to a genuinely apologetic one as she finished, seeming wish she could find it just as much as Haku. A grin came across Haku's face as he heard the last part.

"Well actually, I'm in a way here to remedy that. I'm Haru Sheng-chi's son."

The woman's eyes bright and she once again became very animated and rushed forward giving Haku an unexpected hug.

"No way ! Sheng-chi Gardens is open again, we have to go right now!"

Haku replied a little hoarsely as her arms were surprisingly strong and squeezing his torso quite tightly.

"That's what I'm trying to do remember, I can't seem to figure out these directions."

The woman let him go just as suddenly as she grabbed him, again blushing thinking about what she had done. There was a confused look on her face though.

"Wait. Didn't you say you were opening up the shop. How do you not know where it is."

"It's a bit complicated. Perhaps you can help me out with these directions then."

"Definitely!"

Again she rushed to Haku this time to his side looking down at the paper in front of them. She turned her head to speak shortly before looking down to reading the instructions.

"Oh, by the way my names, Maki. Maki Taldian."

Realizing how rude he had been he turned his head a bit to introduce himself as well.

"Nice to meet you Maki. My name is Hakoda Shen-chi. I go by Haku though."

She seemed to hear but didn't look up from the map, she was making a somewhat silly concentrating face at the instructions as Haku spoke. He held in a giggle and finally took in bit the person he had quite literally just bumped into. She had brunette hair that went past her shoulders a bit; she was having trouble keeping it out of her face as she read. She was wearing fairly plain pants with a sleeved dark fire red dress going down to her knees, tied off at the waist by a brighter red band. She had a beautiful face as well though her varied expressions made it go anywhere from a sultry sarcastic appearance to cute confused like the face she was currently making.

"Oooookay. I think I know where your' going."

She broke Haku out of his hypnotic gaze. He shot his eyes back to the directions bashfully before Maki looked back over.

"Great, which way do I go?"

"It's okay I'll just take you there, you seem to have a problem with directions anyways."

"Hey!"

Haku said in a mock defensive tone. They both laughed as Maki began practically dragging him down the road. Just as excited as him to get there.

They arrived a few minutes later at a small shop with the fondly familiar letters 'Sheng-chi Gardens' printed between two white lotuses. They both looked up at the sign with a nostalgic sigh; his travel guide apparently had quite a past with this business as well Haku thought to himself. Haku went up to the door with Maki following and turned the handle. Surprisingly it opened right away, which was good as Haku was given no key to the establishment. In such a busy city it would be weird for the place to be left alone though.

"Hello?"

Haku called out, hoping someone was looking after his new home. He waved his hand to Maki and they both walked toward the back of the store their eyes taking in the sights of the surprisingly well set up shop. They both breathed deeply the smell of living earth, and looked around at the wonderfully well kempt plants on the shelves and hanging from the ceiling. Maki ran ahead of Haku who was still looking around at a few of his favorite plants, she got to the front desk and rang the small shiny new bell that sat on it.

"Be there in a minuet."

Maki and Haku looked at each other confused at the sound of the muffled man's voice from the back of the storeroom.

"Let me just finish watering these plants and I'll be right up."

The voice was a little closer this time and it seemed oddly familiar, it was an older gentleman's voice. Perhaps an old friend from the White Lotus, it had been a while since he had really spoke to any of them directly. Haku walked up beside Maki and waited. The old man walked out of the store room dusting off his pants and looking down. Haku recognized him immediately, as the man looked up from his dusty attire.

"Mr. Lee!"

The greeting smile on the old man's face grew even wider and his hands went out to his sides opening up to embrace the young man.

"Hakoda, good to see you, I was afraid you wouldn't make it. I was told a carriage drawn by an eel hound came into town today so I've been expecting you."

Haku reached over the counter to give the man a hug before explaining himself.

"I'm afraid I was lost for some time before my new friend Maki hear helped me out."

Lee and Haku separated and Lee gave a light bow to Maki.

"Thank you miss for helping my friend. He's usually quite bright, apparently his mind is having an off day."

"No more off than your mind's average day."

They both laughed and Lee poked him in the chest.

"Perhaps you just put too much of your mind into sarcasm, and not enough into actually thinking."

They laughed again before noticing their guest's confused expression. Chuckling still they turned to Maki.

"Mr. Lee is right though Maki you have been a great help today. If there's any way I can return the favor?"

It did not take long for Maki to think up that favor.

"Oooh Yes Yes!"

She shot over to one of the shelves with smaller pots on it and started to browse. She picked out a pot with a single red flower in it, and brought it over to the two on looking men.

"Can I have this one Haku? In return for being a guide I mean…"

Haku looked at Mr. Lee not really being in control of merchandise himself, and raised his eyebrow a bit. Mr. Lee smiled and answered for him.

"Hakoda could never say no to such a pretty lady. Isnt that right?"

Haku nervously put a hand on the back of his neck and blushed a bit, hoping she didn't notice in the darker room.

"Yeah sure Maki. You did help me out today after all."

"Eeeeeee!"

She put the plant on the table and jumped up to hug him just as earlier letting out the squeal of joy.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you Haku!"

Haku reciprocated her hug this time, trying to stay on his feet as she jumped up and down in his arms. They separated, and Maki picked her plant back up.

"Well, I'm sure that you have a lot of work to do getting settled in to this shop. Though it looks pretty well set up already."

"Thank you, Maki"

Mr. Lee replied taking it as a compliment.

"You're welcome Mr. Lee. Well I'm going to go home now and get this plant in a pot of my own. Goodbye Mr. Lee, goodbye Haku. I'll be around."

She went out the door, and left Haku and Mr. Lee by themselves. He turned to the old man finally able to say what was on his mind.

"So what exactly are you doing here my friend? Don't you have a shop of your own."

"I suppose. But someone else will take care of it while I'm away. Just I as I did when the previous White Lotus caretaker moved away from the shop."

"Your name is on the front of the shop though. The sign looks pretty old did you change it when you got it?"

Mr. Lee laughed a bit at the remark.

"There are a million Lees Hakoda. What makes you think that's even my real name?"

Haku's just stood there processing the information. Lee laughed at the boys dumbfound state before continuing.

"It is of little importance though. I have been sent to help you run this shop by the Lotus, and the Legacy. They thought given our history I would be the best choice so I went out ahead of you while you said your goodbyes and helped set up this shop with a few other members. I was just finishing up the most important part when you brought your pretty little friend in."

Lee turned and motioned for Haku to follow. They took a familiar trip toward the back of the store to a mostly empty shelf with a keyhole behind it. The wall opened up and the view within left Haku with a sense of awe. It was twice the size of Lee's old backroom, and Haku felt like a kid in a candy shop.

"I see you like the new stockroom. Am I right?"

"Right you are Lee, right you are."

Lee stood back as Haku went around the walls and drawers, examining each tool carefully. He was just about to try swinging a new sword when Mr. Lee stopped him.

"Wait! There is no need for that here. Come let me show you what else this shop has to offer."

Lee led Haku to the very back of the store room, and opened another secret door. Haku brushed past him not able to wait and see. Within was a fair sized training room. There was a range with a multiple targets, wooden dummies as well as some training weapons on a rack.

"My only question Lee is, where are we keeping the plants?"

Lee laughed and shook his head.

"You leave the business to me for now Hakoda. I'll teach you in due time how to run this shop yourself. In the meantime you should start training yourself with your new tools. The Legacy already have a mission, a gangster named Chang has threatened war on Fangs old men. A lot of innocent businesses Fang's men watch over could be harmed in the process. Chang is just looking to make a show of power with Fang out of the way, but his men would certainly react violently if we killed him. So instead we are going to do Chang's work for him."

Haku looked at Lee questionably.

"What I mean is though we can't take out Chang. We can take care of the remaining loyal to Fang with fair ease. They are only lead now by a few of the old mid ranked street leaders. They were good at taking orders but are themselves foolish and headstrong. If we can take them out of the picture it would remove the spark from the powder keg, and Fang's old men would have no one to lead them. Therefore Chang would have no one to fight."

"Very clever, Mr. Lee."

"It was not my plan, but your brothers in the Legacy are very wise indeed Hakoda."

"How long do I have then?"

Mr. Lee thought a moment before answering.

"You should settle in tonight, I'll show you your room and get you set up here. The Leaders are having a meeting in two days' time; you should take tomorrow and the next day to prepare."

The serious tone then dropped from Mr. Lee's voice.

"After that business is taken care of. Perhaps I can show you a bit more about the shop, teach you how to work things. Maybe your new girlfriend will drop by, yes? Maki right?"

Haku smiled and bopped the old man on the arm.

"You just won't give up trying to hook me up will you, you dirty old man."

"Hey! I am as clean minded as an air nomad, I'll have you know. Though perhaps you are right on the first half of your accusation."

They both laughed heartily as they closed up the hidden room and went towards the stairs leading up to the living quarters. Today had been a lively day, Haku was almost ready for sleep already. With only two days till his first mission in Republic City he migh need it. More than that though, he couldn't wait to see Maki again, and his dreams seemed just as good a place as any to meet.

**Couldn't think of much to put here. Its late an I want to go watch adventure time with my neighbor before I sleep soooo…. The usual, if you like/hate/anywhere inbetween this story please review to tell me why. I enjoy your input, and if you have ideas feel free to pm me ill try to work them in. I could do for more planning on these right now I sort off just write as it comes to me. **

**Till next time goodbye.**


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